Potent

I considered titling this post “my method,” but I’ve settled on “potent.” As you can see. But yes, this is a quick post about my writing method, which I thought might be of general interest. I know that I enjoy hearing about how/when other writers write, the mechanics and rituals, etc.

I copied this from an email I sent today.

Well, I try to be up by 11 every weekday, and to sleep no later than 2 on weekends. I have a terrific appetite for sleep. That said, I go to bed around 3 a.m. – 4 a.m. most nights/mornings. You know, a night owl. Anyway, around 11 I wake up and make my coffee, change Laurence’s water and give him treats, and then I sit in the living room dicking around on my iPad and drinking maybe a third of my mug. This is an exact science. Around that time I begin to feel very energized and potent. Hahaha. Yes, I said potent. It’s the caffeine. So then I go to my office and start writing. I usually pause around 2 to fetch a snack, which I take back to the office and eat as I work. That is “lunch.” I continue writing until about 5, by which time I have usually met my “quota” for the day — about 2k words. I then shower and do dinner. Or run then shower. Whatever I happen to be feeling. When I return to my desk, I’m either excited to continue the scene/chapter or feeling washed up/weary/burnt out/disillusioned. So, at that point I either continue to write or stop and divert myself some other way for the rest of the evening. As a general rule I never write after midnight. By that time my mind is too tired and I feel less optimistic, and that pessimism colors everything I reread or write. I also become sloppy and my prose suffers. It’s not usual for me to write with an eye on word count, but because of my deadlines I have put myself on this regime, and it’s working out quite well. Now, all that said, there are days I can’t write worth a damn and I struggle to churn out a few hundred words. Other days the mind is on fire and I forget to eat.